The Golden State Warriors have opened the door to Stephen Curry taking a discount on his next contract, something they desperately need as they look to revitalize the roster at February's mid-season deadline or in free agency next year.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater on Tuesday, the Warriors have offered Curry a range of different contract options which will prove an early indicator on what exactly the front office can do over the next 12 months.
Warriors open door to Stephen Curry taking a discount
Speaking alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective, Slater stated that Golden State have laid out multiple deals to their two-time MVP rather than actually entering into true negotiations.
“They're not like negotiating with Steph Curry right now. They are saying, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this. If you want the one-year max, if you want the two-year max, if you want to wait, like, here's your menu, pick off your menu," Slater said.
"It's different ends of the career and different negotiations, but that's the same thing the Spurs did with Victor Wembanyama," MacMahon added.
Wembanyama took a notable discount with San Antonio on his rookie extension, giving the franchise a little more flexibility to keep their young core together going forward. The Warriors, on the other hand, would ideally like Curry to take a discount to give them a better chance of attractiving rival players, and to try and elevate back into championship contention.
That doesn't mean the two-year, $136.7 million max extension Curry is eligible to sign is off the table. Golden State would still be happy for their franchise superstar to pledge his future by agreeing to the max, but have seemingly offered up other avenues. The least Curry can take on an extension right now is approximately $37.5 million annually which is 40% less than his $62.6 million salary for this season.
Stephen Curry could choose to wait on signing contract
As outlined on The Hoop Collective, there are reasons why it might be beneficial for Curry to wait and potentially enter free agency next summer. At that point he could sign at any number, and the idea of the LeBron James route of taking the minimum shouldn't be completely discounted as an option.
Obviously having Curry playing on the minimum would be a dream scenario for Golden State, but it would also invite speculation on his future if the team was to produce an underwhelming season and miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.
The Warriors still project to be a cap space team next year even if Curry takes the max, unless they use their array of expiring contracts and draft capital for big moves at the February mid-season deadline.
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